1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a reinforced collapsible hose construction and to a method of making same.
2. Prior Art Statement
It is known in the art to provide a so-called collapsible hose construction of the type which may be coiled or rolled into a compact roll; and, examples of such a hose construction are shown in the following items:
(1) U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,875, PA1 (2) U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,347, and PA1 (3) U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,293.
It appears from item (1) that a permeable plastic tubing is provided consisting of elongated flexible strips which are heat sealed along their longitudinal edges.
It appears from item (2) that a so-called unfurlable heat pipe is provided which can be rolled up and is comprised of two flexible heat conductive sheets bonded together at the edges of their facing surfaces and wherein such sheets are made of flexible material such as aluminum foil.
It appears from item (3) that a reinforced collapsible hose is provided which comprises a tubular plastic inner component and a reinforcing tubular fabric cover. However, although not specifically disclosed in this patent, a hose of this type is usually fabricated by manually inserting a thermoplastic tube inside a prewoven flat loomed fabric cover sheath. The thermoplastic tube is then bonded to the cover sheath by inflating same with hot steam or air.
It has also been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,319 to provide a hose, and method of making same, wherein such hose is comprised of a textile jacket and an inner layer of plastic wherein the plastic is initially applied as an outer sleeve and the resulting construction is evaginated.
However, previously proposed hose of the character mentioned have one or more deficiencies including poor collapsibility, poor capability to operate at comparatively high internal pressures, and comparatively high cost.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved reinforced collapsible hose construction.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved method of making a reinforced collapsible hose construction.
Other aspects, embodiments, objects, and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following specification, claims, and drawings.